The following are short descriptions of the women and men who have contributed to the shaping of African American history. These encyclopedia entries serve as a starting point for much more inclusive descriptions and discussions that appear in other sources. For additional information please consult the print or website sources cited in the entry.
John E. (Jack) Nail, a successful Harlem, New York realtor, was born in New London, Connecticut in 1883. His parents, Elizabeth and John B. Nail, moved to New York City where the senior Nail bought a hotel, restaurant, and billiard parlor after working for a … Read MoreJohn E. Nail (1883-1947)
Ida Alexander Gibbs Hunt, teacher, Pan-Africanist and civil rights leader, was born on November 16, 1862 in Victoria, British Columbia. Her parents were Mifflin Wistar Gibbs and Maria Alexander. Ida Gibbs studied in the Oberlin Conservatory of Music from 1872 to 1876. She then went … Read MoreIda Alexander Gibbs Hunt (1862-1957)
Shelby Steele, author and self-described African American conservative, was born in Chicago, Illinois on January 1, 1946. His father Shelby Sr., a black man, worked as a truck driver while his mother Ruth, a white woman, worked as a social worker. Both of his parents … Read MoreShelby Steele (1946- )
John Stewart (also sometimes spelled Steward) was a missionary to the Wyandotte Indians of Ohio and founder of what is often considered the first Methodist mission in America. Stewart was born in Powhatan County, Virginia to free Negro parents who were of mixed ancestry; a … Read MoreJohn Stewart (1786-1823)
Halle Berry, who was born Maria Halle Berry, is a multiracial model, actress, and former beauty queen who was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1968. Her mother Judith Hawkins Berry, who is white, worked as a psychiatric nurse in a Cleveland hospital. Berry’s African American … Read MoreHalle Berry (1968- )
Born John W. Jackson, in Fort Plain, New York, on March 16, 1858, Fowler spent much of his boyhood in Cooperstown, N.Y. where organized baseball maintains its Hall of Fame and museum. Coincidentally Fowler is argued to be one of the first professional black baseball … Read MoreJohn W. “Bud” Fowler (1858-1913)
Attorney, scholar, essayist, and poet George Boyer Vashon made noteworthy contributions to the fight for emancipation and education of blacks. He was born on July 25, 1824, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the third child and only son of an abolitionist, John Bethune Vashon. At age sixteen, … Read MoreGeorge B. Vashon (1824-1878)
Jesse Max Barber, journalist, dentist, and civil rights leader, was born on July 5, 1878 in Blackstock, South Carolina to former slave parents. As a young man he worked as a barber while completing the teacher’s training course at Benedict College, Columbia, S.C. His literary … Read MoreJ. Max Barber (1878-1949)
Henry Adams was a prominent black Baptist minister and advocate for African American education who worked in Georgia and later in Louisville, Kentucky. Adams was born in Franklin County, Georgia in 1802. He obtained a license to preach at the age of 18 and was … Read MoreHenry Adams [Kentucky] (1802-1872)
Prince Saunders was a prominent advocate for the education of African Americans and for the colonization of African Americans in Haiti during his lifetime. He was born in Connecticut and died in Haiti. Prince Saunders was born around 1775 in Lebanon, Connecticut. He was baptized … Read MorePrince Saunders (1775-1839)
